Companies may be involved in many commercial transactions, which may require tracking large amounts of data. For example, suppliers may supply goods that comprise a large number of parts. Information about these parts, such as tracking numbers and availability, may be recorded so that a supplier can ensure that parts are available for purchasers seeking maintenance or repair of purchased goods. Computer systems may be used to store and process recorded part data to improve efficiency and ease administration.
A manufacturer may redesign component parts of goods throughout the lifecycle of the product. Manufacturers are especially likely to redesign component parts of high value goods that are maintained by a purchaser for a long period and will be repaired rather than discarded and replaced. For example, an automobile manufacturer may redesign component parts of an automobile engine. In addition to redesigning components, a manufacturer may also “remanufacture” component parts by refurbishing parts that have been returned to the manufacturer. The manufacturer may substitute redesigned or remanufactured component parts for original component parts and discontinue selling the original component parts. Indeed, some replacement parts may be replaced themselves.
Each redesigned or remanufactured component part may be given its own part number so that replacement parts can be tracked separately from the part that they have replaced. So, when a product owner or service technician needs to order a component part, he or she may hold an obsolete product identifier for the product and may not be aware that the part has been replaced. Parts supersession software may track product replacements and assist operators who wish to identify new parts that have replaced old parts.
Conventional parts supersession software supports only one-to-one product replacements that retrieve information pertaining to a single replacement part when data relating to the obsolete part is provided. However, manufacturers may replace kits with component parts. For example, a car manufacturer may discontinue sale of car transmissions and offer component parts of the car transmission instead. What is needed is a system that can track one-to-many part supersession chains so that operators can identify replacement parts although the parts do not correlate with obsolete parts on a one-to-one basis.